Improvement in mining-riffles



\ C. O. LEY` .Minin iffle.

No. 207,153.- Patented Aug. 20, 1878.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VCHARLES O. BAGLEY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN IVIININGp-RIFFLES.

Specification forming part of Letters Iatent No. 207,153, dated August20, 1.578; application lled March 21, 1878.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES 0. BAGLEY, of the city and county of SanFrancisco, in the State of California, have invented an Improvement inMining-Fifties; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to certaindrawings accompanying this speciiication, and forming a part of thesame.

My invention has reference to that class of mining apparatus in whichriftle-bars or obstructions are used for arresting the particles ofprecious metal which attempt to pass over or through the apparatus.These riflie bars or plates are 'most usually-placed on the bottom of asluiceway or flume through which the auriferous material, mixed withwater, is carried; but they are also used in some forms of concentratorsand amalgamators. My rifllebars are adapted for all of these uses.

The object of the present invention is to greatly simplify and cheapenthe construction of these riffie-bars, and at the same time render themdurable and effective for the purpose in arresting the particles ofprecious metals. The invention therefore consists in a series ofindependent bars or plates serpentine or zigzag in form, and placedparallel to each other, so that a net-work of cavities will be formed,as will be hereinafter described.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan of thesluice-section. Fig. 2 is a plan of the rifies placed longitudinally inthe sluice. Fig. 3 is a side section of the sluice.

LetArepresent a section of a sluice or trough through which auriferousmaterial intermixed with water is to be carried.

b b b are the riftle plates or bars which are placed upon the bottoms ofthis class of mining apparatus for the purpose of arresting the heavymetallic particles, which, lby their superior4 specific gravity, seekthe bottom of the sluice or trough.

I prefer to make these riftle-bars of thin strips of metal; but whenthey are intended to serve simply as obstructing-rifiies they can bemade of other material. Usually I shall make them of copper, andamalgama-te their surfaces with Quicksilver, so as to convert them intoamalgamated plates.

Each plate or bar I bend into a zigzag or serpentine form, asrepresented. I then place them upon the bottom of the sluice or trough,either transversely across it, in the usual way, or lengthwise in it,according to the character of the particles to be arrested.

The bends in the plates can either be made angular or on curved lines.In either case, if the plates be made to correspond with each other, anet-work ot cavities will be formed when the rifle-plates are broughtclose together, as represented at Fig. 1. The rifiles could, however, beplaced at a short distance apart, so as to form a series of low zigzagdams or obstructions, each bend in which forms a backwater or eddy, inwhich the heavy parti-- cles will settle. In some instances I will placethese serpentine plates longitudinally in the bottom of the sluice, asshown at Fig. 2, in which case they will cause the water to move inzigzag or serpentine lines from one end of the sluice to the other. Ineither case the arrangement provides a larger surface than if the plateswere straight, which is a great advantage, especially when the surfaceis amalgamated.

The bends in the plates also serve to greatly strengthen them, and thesimple manner of constructing the riftles by the series of plates bentin the form hereinbefore described, and arranged relatively to eachother, greatly cheapens the construction of ritlies for sluicesections.

The sluice-section A, in the present instance, 1s provided with a copperbottom, which I shall also amalgamate, and the section is adapted to beeither suspended, mounted lon legs, or as a slide, and to have alongitudinal backand-forth motion imparted to it by means of a cam orequivalent device, and a concussion at the end of its backward stroke ormotion, but these devices have all been used before, and are not claimedin this application.

The net-work of cavities or pools formed by this construction andarrangement ofthe rilies insures the lodgment of all the metallicparticles which are heavy enough to settle to the the sluiee and thequantity ot' Water and material passing over it I can save even the fineparticles that have heretofore been carried away by the water asiioat-gold.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

The sluice-seetion consisting; of the plates b, bent in a zigzag orserpentine form, as shown,

and placed in relation to each other upon the bottom of.' the section,whereby a net-Work of cavities is formed, substantially as and for thepurpose specified.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

CHARLES O. BAGLEY. Vitnesses:

WILL B. SCHWARTZ, J. V. DE VRY.

